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Upstate Republican, Pushed Out, Backs Democratic Rival

CANASTOTA, N.Y. — An intensely watched Congressional race here that has become a battleground over the future of the Republican Party took another surprising turn on Sunday, when the Republican candidate — who ended her campaign a day earlier — announced that she was endorsing the Democrat.

The endorsement only intensified the intra-party fighting that has characterized the bitter contest, as Republicans denounced their former nominee, Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, calling her a turncoat who was a member of the party in name only.

“She basically put aside any pretensions and threw in with the Democrats,” said Dick Armey, the former Republican House leader, who was among an ever-growing group of conservative leaders opposed to Ms. Scozzafava’s place on the Republican ticket. Those leaders embraced Douglas L. Hoffman, the candidate on the Conservative Party line.

The White House helped engineer Ms. Scozzafava’s turnabout, sensing an opportunity to turn the rift that has emerged between moderate and conservative Republicans to its advantage. Members of New York’s Democratic Congressional delegation also reached out to Ms. Scozzafava over the weekend and encouraged her to back the Democrat, Bill Owens, a lawyer from Plattsburgh, N.Y.

Her position in New York’s Republican Party seems in doubt: The state party chairman, Edward F. Cox, condemned Ms. Scozzafava’s move.

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Bill Owens, the Democrat seeking an upstate Congressional seat, campaigning in Fulton, N.Y.Credit
Mary Buttolph for The New York Times

“Dede Scozzafava’s endorsement today represents a betrayal of the people of the North Country and the people of her party,” Mr. Cox said, referring to the state’s northern reaches.

Ms. Scozzafava had been under siege from conservative leaders because she supports gay rights and abortion rights and was considered too liberal on various fiscal issues.

Democrats appeared emboldened by the endorsement, but the outcome of the race in this Republican-leaning district remains unpredictable. Neither candidate is taking anything for granted.

With 48 hours to go before the election on Tuesday, both candidates spent Sunday making stops at cafes and veterans’ halls to drum up support in what is expected to be a tight race.

Vice President Joseph R. Biden will be in the district on Monday to campaign for Mr. Owens, while Mr. Hoffman plans to appear with former Senator Fred D. Thompson, one of many national conservative figures who back his candidacy.

Speaking to a group of supporters at a Veterans of Foreign Wars hall in Canastota on Sunday, Mr. Hoffman warned that the race could still be lost.

Ms. Scozzafava’s endorsement was a setback for Mr. Hoffman, whose candidacy has been gaining considerable momentum. He was caught off guard by the news and learned of it from reporters.

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Former Gov. George E. Pataki, right, is backing Douglas L. Hoffman, the Conservative candidate.Credit
Mary Buttolph for The New York Times

“It’s typical of the Democrats to throw everything at me but the kitchen sink, because they are worried I am going to win this race,” he said.

In a statement released Sunday afternoon, Ms. Scozzafava said: “In Bill Owens, I see a sense of duty and integrity that will guide him beyond political partisanship. He will be an independent voice devoted to doing what is right for New York.”

Mr. Owens struck a similar tone, emphasizing the need for “bipartisan solutions to help bring jobs to upstate New York.”

Just a few hours after she announced her withdrawal on Saturday, Ms. Scozzafava met in a restaurant in her hometown, Gouverneur, N.Y., with Steve Israel, a Democratic congressman from Long Island, and the former chairwoman of the New York State Democratic Committee, June O’Neill. They made the case that she had more in common ideologically with Mr. Owens than Mr. Hoffman.

Exhausted and emotionally drained by the attacks from conservatives seeking to paint her as a liberal who was disloyal to the Republican Party, Ms. Scozzafava said she needed time to decide whether she could endorse Mr. Owens, said one person with knowledge of the meeting, who spoke requested anonymity in order to reveal details of private conversations.

The White House was closely monitoring the situation all weekend. A Democratic win in the Republican-leaning district would bolster the party while it is battling over health care reform in Congress and facing rising popular skepticism over its leadership in Washington.

Conservative Republicans who want to discourage the party from backing candidates they deem too moderate are also seizing on the race’s national significance.

“We have a real opportunity to send a real message to Washington,” Mr. Thompson wrote on Red State, a conservative blog. “Now, let’s finish the job.”

A version of this article appears in print on November 2, 2009, on page A16 of the New York edition with the headline: Republican, Pushed Out, Backs Democratic Rival. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe